Former Leeds winger Rogers comes out but announces his retirement aged just 25

Former Leeds United winger Robbie Rogers has written a blog in which he comes out as openly gay and retires from the game.

The 25-year-old, who was released by Leeds in the summer and joined Stevenage on loan, becomes the first professional footballer in Britain to come out since Justin Fashanu in 1990.

He also played for America 18 times, including all three of their games at the Beijing Olympics in 2008.

Breaking new ground: Robbie Rogers, shown playing for Columbus Crew, has released a blog in which he comes out as openly gay, though confirms his retirement from football aged just 25

Pedigree: Rogers has played for USA

In a blog entitled ‘The Next Chapter’,
Rogers writes: ‘Things are never what they seem. My whole life I have
felt different. To overcome your fears you must be strong and have faith
in your purpose.

‘For the past 25 years I have been
afraid to show who I really was because of fear that judgment and
rejection would hold me back from my dreams and aspirations.

'Fear that
my loved ones would be farthest from me if they knew my secret.

‘Life is only complete when your loved
ones know you. When they know your true feelings, when they know who
and how you love. Life is simple when your secret is gone. Gone is the
pain that lurks in the stomach at work, the pain from avoiding
questions, and at last the pain from hiding such a deep secret.

‘Secrets can cause so much internal
damage. Try explaining to your loved ones after 25 years you are gay.
Try convincing yourself that your creator has the most wonderful purpose
for you even though you were taught differently.

‘I always thought I could hide this
secret. Football was my escape, my purpose, my identity. Football hid my
secret, gave me more joy than I could have ever imagined… I will always
be thankful for my career.’

Rogers is from Southern California and
has more than 75,000 followers because of his profile playing for
Columbus Crew in America’s Major League Soccer.

He finishes his blog with: ‘I will
remember Beijing, The MLS Cup, and most of all my teammates. I will
never forget the friends I have made a long the way and the friends that
supported me once they knew my secret.

‘Now is my time to step away. It’s
time to discover myself away from football. It’s 1 A.M. in London as I
write this and I could not be happier with my decision.

'Life is so full of amazing things. I realized I could only truly enjoy my life once I was honest.

'Honesty is a bitch but makes life so
simple and clear. My secret is gone, I am a free man, I can move on and
live my life as my creator intended.’

Secret life: Rogers said he thought he could keep it secret but that 'secrets can cause internal damage'

FOOTBALLERS REACT

Clarke Carlisle 'Huge admiration for @robbierogers - I hope retirement is not because of this revelation, you have our respect & support wherever you go!'

Robert Snodgrass ‏'@robbierogers coming out just shows there's more gay players than we think I didn't have one indication he was gay #respectbro'

Alex Bruce 'A lot of respect for @robbierogers who i was at leeds with for the decision he has made, couldn't of been easy to come out the way he has!'

Ruth Hunt, director of public affairs for lesbian, gay and bisexual charity Stonewall, said: 'It's great that Robbie now feels able to be open about his sexuality but it remains a shame that no professional player feels able to be out during their career.

'Homophobia remains rife in football and we must work together to stop it for the sake of the game.'

Gordon Taylor, chairman of the Professional Footballers' Association, told Press Association: 'I'm pleased that he's come out for his own sake. We do have players who've said that, while they are gay, they don't feel comfortable enough to come out.

'It's not dissimilar to many black players, and we need to create a safe environment for them on and off the field. If there is abuse, that needs to be dealt with by all the football family.

'It's no bad thing that he's been brave enough to come out. We know of players who are playing who are gay who've not had that confidence as yet. But, as the rest of the world becomes more civilised, hopefully that will come.'

Taylor added that the PFA remains committed to programmes of education on all topics relating to discrimination, but that the issue is one that needs to be tackled by society as a whole.

'There needs to be a feeling that there is a comfortable environment for everybody,' he said. 'We're aware through our sporting chance clinic that players who deal with such issues at the moment feel they would be targeted and the attention would no longer be on them as a footballer.

'That's a real challenge. But the game has to be up to that. If we're going to claim to be the major sport in the world, both in terms of spectators and participation, then we've got to use that to create a better example.'

ATHLETES WHO CAME OUT

Justin Fashanu (football) - The first - and so far only - top-flight player to publicly admit his homosexuality. He came out in 1990. After admitting he was gay, Fashanu struggled to reignite an already stuttering career, and retired in 1997, blaming his downfall on prejudice in the English game. He committed suicide in May 1998 aged 37.

Greg Louganis (diving) - The American won a silver medal at the 1976 Olympic Games and followed that with a brace of golds in 1984 and 1988. Louganis' autobiography, released in 1995, detailed his rise to global prominence and subsequent decision to come out as a homosexual living with HIV.

Martina Navratilova (tennis) - The Czech-born nine-time Wimbledon champion came out publicly as gay in 1981, a short time after she was granted US citizenship. The decision hit her sponsorship revenues. 'Prior to being a (US) citizen, I couldn't speak my mind about being gay,' she said. 'But since then I have pretty much said what I think, which has cost me dearly in endorsements.'

Donal Og Cusack (hurling) - The much-decorated Irish star is one of the leading lights of the fast-paced Gaelic game, and became the first elite Irish sportsman to reveal he was gay in his autobiography, 'Come What May'.

John Amaechi (basketball) - The American-born Briton was the first NBA player to openly admit to being gay in 2007. The 6ft 10in star used his autobiography, Man In The Middle, to make public his sexuality.

Gareth Thomas (rugby union) - Thomas, who was Wales' most-capped player and a former British and Irish Lions captain, publicly announced he was gay in December 2009 at the age of 35. He said: 'I just want to thank everyone for the amazing response I have received.'

Steven Davies (cricket) - The England and Surrey wicketkeeper became the first active professional cricketer to openly admit to being gay in February 2011. Davies told The Sun: 'I'm comfortable with who I am - and happy to say who I am in public. To speak out is a massive relief for me.'